Former Sydney backpackers revived as glamorous new hotel

The hotel

Hotel Morris, Sydney

Check in

For an urban hotel, location doesn’t come much better: the 82-room Hotel Morris is a skip-and-a-hop from Central Station, straight up Pitt Street, and right in the centre of Haymarket. It’s well-placed for dim sum lunches or jaunts through Thaitown, or as a launchpad for inner-city exploration. From here, go anywhere – or stay in and enjoy the ground-floor restaurant and bar instead.

The space

Hotel Morris was Australia’s tallest hotel for 34 years.Credit: Steven Woodburn

From the outside, Hotel Morris still carries the visual charm of its past life. Originally opened in 1929, it’s a heritage-listed building designed by architect Virgil Dante Cizzio. It was Australia’s tallest hotel for 34 years and the ghost signage on the outside – including the much-appreciated claim to both hot and cold water – speaks to a history that reverberates onwards.

These days, the Italianate Palazzo-style building has had a facelift, with the original 100 rooms renovated to 82. High ceilings and lots of curves punctuate the spaces, with moody underlighting and tones of blood red, rust and brass. Before it opened in June, as the second Australian hotel to join Accor’s Handwritten Collection, this hotel spent three years in restoration after a stint as West End Backpackers. There’s limited social space here these days, but it’s all about the rooms, the restaurant and the position.

The look

There’s a touch of glamour and high-style elements (hello to you, custom Tom Mark Henry velvet chairs and sconce lighting) here, but there’s no snobbery. It’s almost like we’re all in on it: the in-crowd, the VIP list. The vibe here is one of arches, curves and texture, with the building’s original details (1930s windows, for one) and Art Deco charm interspersed among modern elevations. A staff member mentions Dante’s Inferno, and suggests the classic Italian epic inspired the aesthetic of the bar and surrounding spaces.

The hotel’s hallways are decorated with wallpaper that evokes ancient Rome – replete with grapes, wine goblets and togas – and the restaurant’s interior features low lighting and rich, earthy reds and browns across leather, fabric and marble. Guests must walk through Bar Morris to check in and get to the guest elevators, which could be slightly off-putting if you’re a regular punter but is a lovely perk if you’re a guest for the evening: you know exactly what you’ll be getting yourself into over a classic cocktail.

The room

Generous space: a Grande Suite.Credit: Steven Woodburn

Rooms are sumptuous and moody, with squiggly yellow carpet and enough lighting options to set the scene for any evening. We’re in the Grande Room, a generous space with a tightly tucked king bed and two seating spaces – table and velvet-piped square-form chairs under the window box, as well as a lounge area with an oversized couch. There’s a tiny coffee and tea station, a deck of Scopa playing cards (and instructions on how to play available on the flatscreen TV), and oversized waffle-weave robes.

Rippling yellow glass sconces spread a subtle softness around the suite, mirroring the waves of light billowing through the curtains of the commanding 1930s-era atrium window. Given that nod towards Dante’s Inferno, it’s fitting that the devil is in the details: there’s motion-sensitive underlighting in the bathroom; a sip of warm, almondy Italian-inspired tea upon check-in; and a pillow menu to ensure optimal Zzzzs.

The bathroom features a spacious rain shower with a window (so you can peek out over Pitt Street and the comings-and-goings of Boon Cafe), but not enough hooks or rods to hang towels, which can be a struggle if you’re staying more than one night and taking advantage of the hotel’s eco-incentive to forgo housekeeping in exchange for a restaurant voucher.

Food + drink

Bar Morris: tight and fun.Credit: Steven Woodburn

The hotel is anchored by Bar Morris, a tight and fun operation delivering plates of Italian bites designed to share. Make time for dinner. Strips of fresh and cured anchovies swim in pools of bitey olive oil, alongside gratinated mussels with housemade saffron butter and pickled fennel. Generous slices of medium-rare swordfish are decorated with a creamy acquapazza-inspired sea urchin beurre blanc. Young chef Rosy Scatigna is at the helm, and the informed, interested staff deliver her efforts with a smile and a touch of banter, which is always appreciated. Breakfast – which features a buffet of breads, housemade granola, shaved Italian meats, bocconcini balls, and pear cake – is an add-on for guests.

Out + about

Hotel Morris is in the thick of it. You have the hustle and bustle of Haymarket, as well as Oxford Street just a 10-minute walk down the way. Upscale eateries Chin Chin, Alberto’s Lounge and Nomad are within a stone’s throw, and small bars Shady Pines and The Rover are a wander away. For dinner and a show, start at Bar Morris and then putt along to Capitol Theatre, Soda Factory or the bounty of Darling Square.

The verdict

Sophisticated simplicity and old-school glamour tucked into the CBD’s grungy beating heart.

Essentials

Rooms from $259 a night. 412 Pitt Street, Sydney. hotelmorris.com.au

Our rating out of five

★★★★

Highlight

Sitting under the heritage arch window and watching the world go by beneath you is a very “city” moment, reminiscent of New York or – fittingly – a Sydney from time gone by.

Lowlight

When other guests shower, you can hear it, including their voices, which is a slightly peculiar background noise to an otherwise luxurious morning.

The writer was a guest of Hotel Morris.